Beer: Reviews & Ratings

500ml bottle, a new arrival to Alberta's already British-heavy beer shelves. Definitely a talking point of a name on this one - cute ferret/beer theme, and a play on the North American perception of certain English enunciation, I fink.

This beer pours a crystal clear, medium-light golden amber hue, with two fingers of bubbling foamy ecru head, which leaves a thoroughly consistent, and rather attractive, pattern of dense cobweb lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of sweet biscuity malt, some middling drupe fruitiness, and somewhat bitter floral, leafy hops. The taste is sharp biscuit, somewhat husky and grainy malt, more fruitiness, but this time with a dull citrus twinge, and feebly bitter, kind of ashy, green leafy hops.

The bubbles are fairly sedate, but adequate to their task, the body medium light in weight, and a bit too raspy in its smoothness. It finishes on a nicely balanced note, low and safe, as the malt retains its biscuity graininess, and the hops are just the right frequency to keep things mellow.

A decent enough pale ale, English-style, which of course means reserved, drinkable, and well, more drinkable, without any further blathering about the damned beer. Maybe I get it, maybe I don't. (1,243 characters)

T: Nice cream underscores malt and some nuts cut by bittering hops - nary but more than a sprinkling. Nicely complex and balanced, but not as bold as it ought to be. Built below average for the style. Where are the bittering hops?

Mf: Smooth and wet.

Dr: Expensive by Irish standards - and rather bland at that. At least the cream is refreshing. (894 characters)

Pours a clear golden bronze colour, slightly burnished with a filmy bust lightly sticky head of white foam. Lacing is pretty good, but not exceptional. Head being so filmy as it is is a bit of a let down. Otherwise a decent looking brew.

Pleasant light swetness and English hops on the nose. Some dried fig character, cut grass and a pleasant organic skunkiness. It's reasonably thin, overall, but it's not a bad nose all up.

Some caramel and a light straight hop bitterness, weak, but not offensive. Some phenolic characters coming through at the back, which mingle with the caramel sweetness still welling around from the front, leaving a slightly nasty conglomerate at the end of the palate. Mouthfeel is particularly thin, which is a shame, and overall the sweetness comes across as weak and sickly. I'm probably sounding too harsh. It's not actively offensive, but I can't say I'm a huge fan.

It's not incredibly offensive, but the more I drink the more bland it seems to be. The sweetness becomes more cloying, and the hop character, which seemed quite noticeable at the start, has a harder and harder time breaking through. Not particularly enjoyable by the end. (1,172 characters)

Bottled-version. BB date: Aug. 06.
A: like the cask-conditioned version, the colour is orangey-amber
S: pale-malt sweetish aroma dominates the nose, with wild flower's sweetish yet a bit stinky scent, like elderflower-blossom+rhubarb, underneath is a tinge of white-sugary note and some orangey hops; overall very light-weight but refreshing.
T: deeply flowery sweetish flavour pours into the mouth, leading to a faintly citrus hop and a mildly dryish palate at the back of the tongue and introduces some bitterness. Surrounding the mouth is a residual taste of weird, warmish, powdery grains and rhubarb flavouring, like that of some flower-infused teas... come to think of it, the same thing happens to some other Badger's beers, e.g. Golden Glory and Badger's Original--might be the work of their unique treatment of hops?
M: overall the mouthfeel is too light and the texture too thin, with that slightly artificial fizziness not common to a real ale. The ending touch is watery, all the more so if one catches the lack of aftertaste. Thin-bodied and lacking flavour and depth; this beer fails in its bottled-version even harder than on cask. I think the brewery should improve the recipe or leave the resources for other better beers. (1,244 characters)

Got this bottle from Vinnie, an Englishman who brought it into Bodega Brew Pub downtown La Crosse, WI for me. Thanks Vinnie! Poured with a fine off-white head and some lace. Has a deep amber color. Nose is malty and British hoppy. Flavor is the same but much richer, with a flash of cabbage. Maybe from the clear bottle. Finish is decent, leaving me the wish for another swallow. Typical English Ale with a little extra carbonation. Session beer; I like it. (457 characters)

Slight sticky honey-style malt, maybe German influence, with slight notes of bread yeast, but not overpowering. Light bitterness but doesn't seem natural, and dominant character is that slightly corn-fed malt. Pretty meh, again.

Taste is a lot more organic than I gave it credit for. Flavour is quite malty and slightly earthy, genuine grain character underlying it. Bit of a carbolic soda bitterness creeps through on the mid palate and turns it slightly tart, then a hint of some sort of bitter pang on the back, but not very full of character, more of an afterthought, with a very small amount of bitter hang just lingering at the coda. Not impressed, but it's not as offensive as it might have been.

Mouthfeel is still and lifeless. Maybe a little bit of buoyancy in it but it's dull and uninspired. Overall, a lacklustre and very ordinary brew. Not harsh or unpleasant to drink, but definitely lacking something: like flavour, or ingredients. (1,135 characters)

A: Clear copper body under a thin, fleeting off-white head. Less than great.

S: Skunk and caramel malt. It can't have been too hoppy to begin with, as the skunk is reasonable tolerable. Still, I hate skunk.

T: Musty caramel, skunk, and some residual hops bitterness. A least the sweetness outdoes the skunk, but it's still quite bad.

M: Fizzy medium body. Meh.

O: Why oh why do so many British brewers package their beers in clear bottles? Is the skunk a desired aroma and flavor? In the case of this beer, I almost think that was the plan: who wouldn't want a skunky Ferret from Badger? It sounds like something out of Wind in the Willows, but as much as I like that book, this beer lacks all charm.

Tan with amber hints and a tall lumpy taupe can pour head that crusts nicely.Lots of butterscotch with iced tea undertones on the nose.Butter sliced toasted pan with some apple sauce and wood spice hops to end. Cinammon end and Wuther's Original linger that turns to rancid butter as you go.Smooth, round, some chew, light to medium.

No off flavors, and solid malt-heavy version of a best bitter. But thin, lacking EKG orange, and just bringing no surprises. I can get the same amount of flavor out of some 3.8% bitters, so I'm wondering how this ends up the middle (between session and premium bitters) of the range.

500ml bottle: This one pours a clear, light amber color. There was almost no head on it and minimal lacing. the nose is OK. Malts, orange and spices. It has an interesting taste. Malts are well balanced with the hops, and just somewhat bitter. A slight orange flavor with some faint spices. Not bad. (299 characters)

Comes in a 500ml clear glass bottle with a BB date of Dec 2011. The label has ferrets on it.

Poured into a Sam Smith's pint glass. A clear golden-amber colour with good carbonation. Rather foamy off-white head that disappears after a minute to leave a surface film. Aroma of golden malt with some light hoppy notes, and some alcohol.

Tastes malty with a hint of caramel and mild bitterness; notes of alcohol are also present. Mouthfeel is smooth and slightly astringent. A bitter aftertaste.

Easy enough to drink, but not particularly noteworthy. The flavour doesn't distinguish itself from the crowd. Will probably pass on this in the future. (646 characters)

Pours deep caramel with a moderate head that leaves spotty lace.
Aroma of caramel, mineral water, hop, oil and resins.
Flavor of lightly sweetened caramel, lsightly burnt and roasted malts and some floral hops.
Mouthfel is light sweetness, gritty, slightly charred middle and a rather dry but very light bitter.
Drinkability was OK, pretty average beer to be fair. (368 characters)

Clear, dark copper in hue with an amber-bronze highlight but I already knew this because the bottle was clear. No animation. The head was off-white in color, at the apex the foam was a little less than a half-finger in height. Head retention was fair; it subsided to a thin, soapy cap rather quickly. There was a few rings of subsequent lacing, just enough to be noteworthy. Overall, the appearance is satisfactory.

The nose has been slightly affected by the clear bottle. I can get past it. Weak caramel notes, grain, mineral water, and a hint of dull honey/apples. Light potency. The bouquet really doesnt say much. It is too clean for an ale, especially a British interpretation. It is too neutral to be considered inviting.

The palate is a yawner. Grainy caramel, some mineral twangs, and a smattering of honey and fruit are about all the palate has too offer. There is nominal malty goodness and faint hop bitterness. It does turn juicy at the finish; this saves the beer from complete failure in one sense. Im burping skunk that all but kills this beer for me. Is this really an EPA? No way, okay maybe it is (is this really a piss-poor Mild Ale?) but Fursty Ferret is just not a good representation of anything.

Medium-light in body, the carbonation is low and this makes the mouthfeel very sluggish. This beer is not refreshing, which is a shame because a beer with such a modest abv should at least be refreshing!

Is it at least drinkable? No. Every swallow made my stomach fell funny (I wasnt laughing). For novelty sake this beer was purchased (see: the name and label). Honestly, I didnt care for this beer. It is sluggish and boring with little redeeming qualities. This bottle was purchased in England and brought back to me thanks to Howard and Lynne. Regardless of my review I need to issue a huge thanks for the effort! (1,862 characters)

T - Caramel and malts are pretty dominant for the flavors. There is a slight bitterness and floral finish. There is also a very slight fruitiness (similar to the scent). None of these flavors really jump out though.

M - On the light side of medium bodied, Somewhat sweet and dry finish.

D - Not overly drinkable, the finish (dry and sweet) reduce it a bit. But it isn't overly offensive so it is fairly easy to drink.

Notes: Average beer that I don't mind drink but I won't really look for it. (603 characters)

This bottle was one of two gifts given to me by a friend visiting from London. Poured into an imperial pint glass. The body was the color of a shiny new penny. Thin white head, and zero lacing whatsoever. Moderate carbonation at first, then it goes still. Smell had a slight twinge of the euro skunk aroma that accompanies some beers from the continent. Taste was slightly nutty, but I didn't get any of the orange that the label boasts about. Mouthfeel was thin, but expected for the style. Low abv made this a gulper kind of beer. A good session ale from England, but not one to really sip, savor, and enjoy. (610 characters)